Film holder for photographic cameras



ay 30, 1939- K. MORSBACH 'ET AL 2,159,998

FILM HOLDER FOR PHOTOGRAPHIC CAMERAS Filed June 4, 1931 A1: Rank Jtforn e35 Patented May 30, 1939 I l FILM HOLDER FOR PHOTOGRAPHIC CAMERAS Kurt Mor'sbach, Berlin-.Grunewaid, and Kurt Raschke, Berlin,- Germany, assignors, by mesne assignments, to Camera Patents Corporation, Ridgewood, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application June 4, 1931, Serial No. 542,034 In- Germany August 26, 1930 9 Claims. (Cl. 88-17) In a certain well-known type of photographic tion lying between the film gate and the respecfilm cameras the film is moved exclusively by an tive spools. intermittently feeding means, without the aid A satisfactory and very simple example of a of auxiliary winding devices located in advance construction embodying our present invention is and in the rear of said means respectively, the illustrated by the accompanying drawing in plan 5- customary winding-on and winding-oft spools view, partly in section. or-rolls being located in a suitable holder. The film holder shown comprises a casing I In apparatus of this type there occur frequentof substantially rectangular shape, the cover of ly irregularities or disturbances in the travel of which has been omitted from the drawing. At

10 the film, which become disagreeably perceptible 2 we have indicated the shaft with which the 10 by failure of the film to remain perfectly stationwinding-off or film supply spool or feed roll 3 ary during exposure. This defect is due to the is connected (detachably) in any well-knownor fact that owing to the absence of the auxiliary approved manner, said shaft being journaled in winding devices referred to above, and of a film the casing I. A second shaft 4, operatively conloop or bight between the spools or rolls and the nected with the usual spring motor of the appa- 16 point at which the feeding force is applied, the ratus (not shown) and driven by such motor, expull of the feeding means is transmitted by the tends into the interior of the holder through an film directly to the winding-oft spool. opening in the holder bottom. This second shaft Since the mass of such spool is relatively con- 4 serves to drive the winding-on spool or take-up 20 siderable, this acceleration has the drawback of roll 5. The film passes from the spool or roll 3 20 placing a very great strain on the feed perfora through a guide channel 6 to the film gate or tions of the film, as the film is called upon to window 1, where the exposure is made and where transmit the power required for accelerating the the film is engaged by the usual feeding claw 1" winding-off spool. Furthermore, the windingor equivalent means for advancing it, through off spool, by its momentum, continues to rotate another guide channel 8, toward the winding-on 5 after the pull of the feeding means has ceased, p $11001 The w Channels 5 and a so that the length of film wound off said spool are formed between a wall of the holder on one will be greater than the length fed past the winside, and on the other side by curved plate dow or gate during such pull. As a result, the springs 9 (which may be made of one piece of film is pushed or crowded into the film-guiding metal), one end of each spring being secured 30 channel by the continued rotation of such spool, rigidly to the holder bottom, as indicated at I andtthis in turn causes a failure of the film to to constitute a fixed guide channel, while the remain stationary during exposure, particularly other end of the spring constitutes a continuation if the apparatus has no stopping or holding gripof said fixed guide channel and is adjacent to per or claw. the spool 3 or 5, respectively, the elasticity of the 35 Attempts have been made to avoid these drawspring tending to make it move outwardly, that backs by omitting entirely the stationary guide is to say, away from the respective film spool channel usually provided between the windingor roll. off spool and the point at which the feeding force When a pull is exerted on thefilm by the feedi ppli d, a spring being employed in c nnec i ing claw or equivalent means, at the window or 40 with such attempts, for the P p of Pmducing gate 1, in the direction of the arrow, the result is a loop'nke lengthening of the film Path at this first to bend or flex the left-hand spring 9 toward izgrtion. This expedient not satisfactory, for the wmdmsmfl spool 3, as indicated by dotted 8 reason that the provlsion of the spring lines, thereby enabling the film portion between quires the film holder to be enlarged, and that theaddition of this auxiliary element increases the point of feed and the said Spool to be shortthe cost of the holder. ened without transmitting the pull to the said The difiiculties explained above are overcome, spool The left'hand Spring 9 is thus put under according to our invention, by so constructing tension, and when the pull exerted by the feedthe members which serve to guide the on its ing device ceases, the spring by its elasticity re- 50 way t a from the m gate or window (that sumes the normal position indicated by full lines, i t b t said window and t windingand. during its outward movement draws a coroff and winding-on spools respectively) that such esponding lengt of fi from the W n -0i members will modify the path of the film in such Spoo o e r011 Thlls, Withflut using y a manner as to alter the length of the film porditional part, and while preserving a proper guid- 55 ance for the film, we avoid any excessive strains on the film at the feed perforations thereof and all jerky action on the film at the gate 1.

The spring 9 adjacent to the channel 8 operates in a manner similar to that described above, but out of step with the other spring 9. In otherwords, the right-hand spring 9 is flexed inwardly and therefore placed under tension, during the interval that the film is stationary, and returns, by its elasticity, to the normal relaxed position, during the feed movement of the film. During the time that the film is stationary, the windingon spool or take-up ,roll 5, which is driven permanently by the spring motor or equivalent mechanism, exerts a pull on the film and thereby bends the right-hand spring inwardly, shortening the film portion between the film gate 1 and the periphery of the film coil on said spool. When thereupon during the next feed movement of the film the length of the film portion between said points is increased, the right-hand spring 9 is permitted to swing back outwardly to its original position by its elasticity. It will therefore be understood that like movements of the two springs alternate, the inward or tensioning movement of one spring co-inciding in time with the outward or relaxing movement of the other spring. The inward movement of a spring corresponds to the shortening of the film portion engaged by such spring, while the outward movement of a spring corresponds to a lengthening of the respective film portion.

Our invention enables us to dispense with the use of stopping or holding mechanism in conjunction with the feed device, and also with the use of auxiliary winding devices located in ad-.

vance and in the rear of said feed device respectively.

While intended primarily for motion picture cameras, our invention is also applicable to motion picture projectors.

Various modifications may be made without departing from the nature of our invention as set forth in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a film holder for motion picture apparatus including a film gate, a guide channel through which the film is moved to said gate by intermittently actuated feeding means, a winding-off spool and a winding-on spool, that improvement, which comprises a resilient member forming a continuation of the inner wall of said guide channel, said member being rigidly fastened in position at the end toward said film-- gate and being free at the end toward one of said spools, and being adapted to coincidentally guide the film and to alternately shorten and lengthen successive portions of the film between the guide channel and one of said two spools.

2. In a film holder for motion picture apparatus including a film gate, a guide channel I through which the film is moved to said gate by intermittently actuated feeding means, a winding-off spool and a winding-on spool, that improvement, which comprises a resilient member located between the guide channel and the winding-on spool and a second resilient member located between the guide channel and the winding-oif spool, each of said members forming a continuation of the inner wall of the guide channel, and being rigidly fastened in position at the end towards said film-gate and being free towards the end to one of said spools, each of said :members being adapted to coincidentally guide the film and to alternately shorten and lengthen successive portions of the film between the guide channel and one of said two spools.

3. In a film magazine, the combination of a take-up spool on which film is to be wound, a gate-plate past which the film is to be fed before it reaches the take-up spool, a plate extending from the adjacent end of the gate-plate to a point near the take-up spool, said plate lying closely adjacent the wall of the magazine and forming a passage along which the film passes, the end of the latter plate adjacent the take-up spool being of a predetermined flexibility, the film passing over this flexible end and being automatically maintained in a state of uniform tension as it is wound up on the take-up spool.

4. In a removable filmmagazine for amateur motion picture cameras, a magazine casing adapted to be removably inserted in a camera,

a film supply reel and a film take-up reel disposed within the casing, a gate plate in the casing and disposed adjacent one Wall thereof, the film being adapted to pass from the supply reel to and past the gate plate and thence to the take-up reel, a plate disposed between the gate and the take-up re el and lying closely adjacent a wall of the casing to guide the film, and fiexible means disposed between said plate and the take-up reel to bear against the film and maintain an even tension therein.

5. In a film magazine for amateur motion picture cameras, a magazine casing adapted to be removably inserted into a camera, a film supply reel and a. film take-up reel disposed within the casing, means mounted in the casing and disposed adjacent one wall thereof for guiding the film past an opening in the casing at which the film is exposed as it passes from the supply spool to the take-up spool, and means of predetermined resiliency mounted in the casing and forming a continuation of said guiding means in the direction of travel of the film to the take-up spool and operatively engaging the film as it passes between the exposure opening and the take-up spool for automatically maintaining said film in a state of uniform tension.

6. In a film magazine having an opening therein at which the film is exposed, the combination of a supply spool, a take-up spool, means mounted in the magazine for guiding the film as it passes from the supply spool to the take-up spool past the exposure opening, at least a part of said guiding means being rigid with respect to the magazine and being disposed adjacent a wall thereof, and at least one other part of said guiding means in the path of the film from spool to spool being of predetermined resiliency and operatively engaging that section of the film between the exposure opening and a spool for automatically maintaining said film in a state of uniform tension.

7. In a film magazine having an opening therein at which the film is exposed, the combination of a supply spool, a take-up spool, means mounted in the magazine for guiding the film as it passes from the supply spool to the take-up spool and v .past said exposure opening, the part of said guidfilm relatively adjacent the supply spool for maintaining the film automatically in a state of uniform tension.

8. In a film magazine for a film handling apparatus, a. supply spool mounted in the magazine for rotation, a take-up spool mounted in the magazine and adapted to be continuously driven, a guide mounted in the magazine adjacent the wall thereof for directing the film as it is intermittently moved past an opening in the magazine at which the film is exposed as it passes from the supply spool to the take-up spool, and a guide channel disposed between said guide and said take-up spool and cooperating with said guide to direct the film toward the take-up spool, said guide channel including film tensioning means in the line of said channel and the path'of said film to the take-up spool and engaging said film and cooperating therewith for preventing the take-upspool from drawing the film from said channel faster than the film is intermittently advanced into said guiding channel.

9. In a film magazine for a film handling apparatus, a supply spool mounted in the magazine for rotation, at take-up spool mounted in the magazine and adapted to be continuously driven, a guide mounted in the magazine adjacent the wall thereof having an opening at which the film is exposed for directing the film as it is intermittently moved past said opening, said guide extending toward said take-up spool in the path of the film, and film tensioning means disposed between the end of said guide toward the take-up spool and the take-up spool in the path of the film and engaging therewith for preventing the take-up spool from drawing the film from said guide faster than the film is intermittently advanced from said guide.

KURT MORSBACH. KURT RASCHKE.

the same and cooperating 

